Active yeast won't foam! I am starting over today with fresh flour and distilled water. I gave up and used 2 teaspoons white sugar with a pack of yeast. Fresh yeast, sometimes called compressed or cake yeast, is also composed of 100 percent living cells, but has not been dehydrated. The result is … You rehydrated the yeast improperly by using water that was too hot (more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit).Also, don’t leave the yeast in the … Well that didn’t turn out the way I was hoping. I waited 10 minutes, got the water to 110 and set the cut in a bowl of 110 degree water to heat the honey up. I'm using 1 packet of dry active yeast, some milk heated at 105 degrees, stirring it to dissolve and waiting 10 min but the mixture won't foam! The yeast contained in ingredient kits is often so old that it’s useless — always buy fresh yeast that has been kept refrigerated. How to tell if Your Yeast is Dead or Dying. But I failed twice. I mixed in my yeast, which had been bubbling, and made the dough, put it in the bread pan and let it sit for 24 hours and it never rose, and the yeast in my ball jar is not bubbling. I am making a honey bread, and I have wasted 2/3 a cup of honey already trying twice to get my yeast to bubble with honey. Yeast is the magic that makes bread into bread. I was determined to do it right. One way to see if your yeast is dead or alive is to make a batch of bread; however, if your yeast is indeed dead – that is a very wasteful method. Without it, we would all be eating crackers.